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Calaveras redfish are lined up at the cleaning table, which will see a lot of use until water temperatures cool in the fall. John Goodspeed / For the Express-News

By John Goodspeed

The morning was overcast with occasional drizzle, and the redfish were finicky — as if they weren’t wet already.

The four downriggers trolled a variety of lures that usually work on cloudy days at Calaveras Lake, silver spoons with red and yellow tape and dark plastics in deep colors such as purple and dark red.

After an hour of cruising near the dam and toward the CPS Energy power plant outlet and all points in between, guide Manny Martinez began switching lures and setting the downriggers’ depths to match the enormous schools of reds showing on the depth finder.

The morning before, two clients caught their limit of six in 30 minutes. The trio of anglers that afternoon scored nine in an hour and 15 minutes.

For us, though, at noon and after three hours, only four fish had taken the bait — two undersized stripers and two reds of about 22 inches on a Hogie Candy Cane.

“You have to keep changing colors,” Martinez said. “They can be very picky, and if they’re hitting on one color at noon it doesn’t mean they’ll still want it at 1.”

When two reds struck a 5-inch Hogie Golden Croaker, though, he switched the other three downriggers to it and the action was on, with fish on each pass through the school — and sometimes on three rods at the same time.

Within 45 minutes, the three anglers limited out with reds up to 28 inches, and a nearby fisherman landed a 17-pound red, proving what Martinez said earlier about plentiful fish between 22 and 34 inches.

“Calaveras is on fire right now,” said Martinez, who began guiding on Calaveras and Braunig lakes 30 years ago. “It’s the hot ticket. It’s the bomb. I’m seeing schools of reds bigger than I’ve ever seen in my whole career.”

The reason lies in the stocking numbers and the fact that redfish, a saltwater species, thrive in Calaveras.

A whopping 733,708 red drum fingerlings were released by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department in 2008 followed by more than 220,000 in 2009, and those fish are 20 inches and longer now. Stockings of more than 655,000 in 2010 and some 621,000 in 2011 mean the action should continue over the next several years.

“Our gill net catch rate this year was the highest we had since 1999,” TPWD inland fisheries biologist John Dennis said. “Two years ago we got the second highest, and two years before that was the third highest.”

While the long-term average is 2.2 per night, in 2012 it was 5.8.

“We’re not only getting a lot but also a large number of bigger fish, 20 inches and longer,” Dennis said.

Redfish love warm water. Because of the mild winter and a sixth electrical generation plant added at Calaveras, the water temperature reached the mid-70s in February, and the action’s been on since then, Martinez said.

“There should be a good bite for reds through the fall,” Dennis said. “Now that it’s started, it’s real unlikely it’s going to stop. Redfish like hot water. It could be 102 degrees outside and the water temperature almost 100. Anglers may be miserable, but reds are as happy as can be.”

At Braunig, a smaller lake that received more than 270,000 fingerlings in 2008 and none in ’09, redfish action is slow while the electric plant is idle before the summertime demand. Until then, water temperature will depend on solar heating.

The only other lake TPWD stocks with reds is Lake Fairfield State Park east of Waco.

While anglers such as Martinez are wise to change baits until the fish bite, science cannot determine how to predict the right combination of factors, Dennis said.

“If I knew, I’d be a millionaire,” he said. “When they’re not biting and then they suddenly turn on, there are an unknown number of factors. It could be the time of day or Manny found what they were eating that day and used a similar lure.

“The color, wiggle and size of lure can make a difference. Sometimes it has to do with what’s available to eat. It’s a trigger response, and you have to find the right combination of what they’re looking for.”

That’s why the space below Manny’s seat looks like a tackle store.

“Every day has been different and you have to keep experimenting to see what’s working,” Martinez said.

But one thing is for sure for the rest of spring and summer.

“It will be explosive,” he said. “Calaveras is the king.”

John Goodspeed is a freelance outdoors writer. Email john@johngoodspeed.com.

DATA BANK

Calaveras redfish tactics

Downriggers: Good depth/fish finder is essential. Reds normally found between 15-20 feet. Try a variety of lures, including Hogies. On sunny days, use gold and silver spoons and plastics in chartreuse, glow in the dark with red tail and cockroach. On overcast days, use silver spoons and plastics in deep colors — purple, dark red and strawberry.

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About Racks & Reels

News and information on hunting, archery and fishing in South and Central Texas. Boating, lake level and river level information provided for Braunig Lake, Lake Calaveras, Canyon Lake, Medina Lake and others. Whitetail deer and turkey season information and tips.